BULAWAYO – A 38-year-old Bulawayo man who killed his wife during a drunken fight and then went into hiding for more than two years has been jailed for an effective five years.
Godfrey Ndlovu appeared before Justice Naison Chivayo at the Bulawayo High Court, where he pleaded guilty to culpable homicide following the death of his 23-year-old wife, Chelesani Ndlovu, at their Sidojiwe Flats home in Belmont West.
Justice Chivayo handed down an eight-year sentence but suspended three years on condition of good behaviour.
The court heard that on September 15, 2021, the couple had been drinking when a violent row broke out. Ndlovu struck his wife several times on the head and face with an unknown object, leaving her unconscious in the corridor outside their flat.
Neighbour Holder Ncube discovered Chelesani lying on the ground with swelling to her face and blood coming from her mouth. Ndlovu admitted assaulting her, accusing her of infidelity, but initially dismissed her condition as drunkenness. He fled soon after realising she had died.
A post-mortem conducted at the United Bulawayo Hospitals revealed she succumbed to cranial trauma, subdural hematoma and blunt force injuries.
Prosecutor Kenneth Shava told the court that Ndlovu went into hiding after the killing and remained on the run until January 2024, when police arrested him at a shop in Mbamba, Tsholotsho, acting on a tip-off.
In mitigation, Ndlovu, represented by lawyer Takunda Chapisa, said both he and his wife had been heavily intoxicated and insisted he did not intend to kill her. He claimed the fatal injury was sustained when he pushed her during an argument, causing her to hit her head against a wall.
Justice Chivayo accepted the plea to the lesser charge, finding that while Ndlovu acted recklessly, there was no evidence he intended to kill.
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